Kyuhyun feels the buzzing sound disappear from his ears. It’s raining again. Each raindrop that patters against the long window soothes the tranquil man, whose hands were on his head, pushing back stubborn locks of shoulder-length hair as he rests his back on the wall behind him, his soft hums disappearing into the midst of howling winds and scattered rain.

“Does the rain bother you, Kyu?”

“I suppose so” Kyuhyun answers, his eyes flicking around the room, looking for something to settle upon until he gives up with a sigh and closes silky eyelids over gray orbs. “...Yeah. It’s giving me a headache”

Lee Sungmin smiles casually, closing his book to focus more on the man seated on his left. Staring on ahead, past the crystal glass and the windowsill, his once expressive eyes dart along the stretch of a wet, unwinding road, flooded with mud and little puddles that reflected back the dull gray sky. Kyuhyun shifts beside him, and he gradually returns his gaze on the younger man before pursing his lips when Kyuhyun moves to roll around on the bed.

“Come here” Kyuhyun drawls, slender fingers tangling unto ebony hair as soon as Sungmin settles himself closer, his warm lips placing a tender kiss on the back of Kyuhyun’s ear. And when they were both under the warmth of the woolen blanket, Kyuhyun turns his head to nudge Sungmin on the shoulder, his forehead planted against the column of Sungmin’s pale neck.

Silence soon encompassed them, steady and nimble like leaves dancing along the meadows. The last time Kyuhyun remembered, the one time when this same, familiar silence embraced the both of them, was the time they had quarreled; the fight which had lasted over a month, and had both parties agreeing to never bring the incidence back up again. Sighing lowly and stifling his laughter, Kyuhyun his lips and blinks – once, twice, thrice – and looks up, making Sungmin pull away a short distance to look at him, “What’s wrong?” he asks.

The younger man lies still for a moment, his eyes opening and closing as he takes in his partner’s scent – like freshly clipped roses and crisp rain – before breathing out,

“How long has it been…?”

It was Sungmin’s turn to breathe a sigh, “That’s not important” there was reluctance in his voice.

Kyuhyun locks his arms around Sungmin’s waist and pleads, or at least tried to, “I wanna know…”

“I wanna know. How long have I been blind?”

Sungmin can feel his eyes water, and he reaches out – just a simple touch to Kyuhyun’s cheek before pulling him to his arms, “Kyuhyun”

“Please tell me”

“About eighteen months…” Sungmin’s voice cracks, pressing a kiss to Kyuhyun’s forehead before sitting up to wipe his glassy eyes. For as much as he loathed himself over the loss of Kyuhyun’s eyesight, the accompanying pain that he will never get to see those expressive eyes again made it all more agonizing. Never again, will he see those depthless orbs, so lively and so loving, focus on his own. That piercing, yet caring gaze, pulling him into a trance that only Cho Kyuhyun can do, locking him down and pinning him. The soulful gaze that added to his charisma, a quality that belonged to the man who swept him off his feet.

Never again. Those days were long over and can never be replaced.

Sungmin’s snaps back to reality and his breath hitches when Kyuhyun rolls around and buries his face onto the fabric of his shirt, “What are you doing? Lie down next to me…”

“Silly maknae…you’re acting like a big baby again” Sungmin chuckles, though his hands kept a firm lock on Kyuhyun’s fingers. “A spoiled brat”

“Doesn’t matter” Kyuhyun groans. And with a single, swift move, he pins the older man to the bed and hovers over him in an instant, his slender fingers keeping a firm hold unto Sungmin’s thin wrists. “I love you” he whispers, staring as if though he can clearly picture out Sungmin’s face.

Sungmin bites his lips and turns away. Feeling the slightest movement, Kyuhyun chuckles and lets go of Sungmin’s hands to cup his face, smoothening out his creased eyebrows before closing his lids over lifeless spheres.

“What are you doing?” he can hear the puzzlement on Sungmin’s voice, and Kyuhyun smiles at that.

“Kyuhyun”

Moving his hands, he pictures out Sungmin’s face at the center of his mind, as if he’s a painter painting for the very first time on his invisible canvas. Sungmin giggles at the touch; and when he opens his mouth to say something, Kyuhyun hushes him with a finger to his lips,

 “You’re beautiful” he whispers, molding the perfect symmetry of his lover’s face. Sungmin’s eyes widen, feeling tears well up at the corners, “Why are you saying that?” he counters, trying to sound irritated, yet his voice gives away the moment the words left his mouth.

“I said it…because it’s true” Kyuhyun answers, smiling to himself when the pad of his fingers trace the plumpness of Sungmin’s lips. A little more…

High cheekbones in compliment to each eye socket. Silky lids, thin eyebrows, long lashes. Thin nose with a perfect bridge. Flawless skin. Not a wrinkle on his forehead. And silky bangs that frames a beautiful face…just like that last day.

The day when Cho Kyuhyun lost his eyes.

Kyuhyun knows that it wasn’t Sungmin’s fault. Heck, it was nobody’s fault. That freak car accident happened because, well…it was an accident; and no one can really tell what’s coming next. He pauses and allows himself to be taken back to that fateful day…the day when it was all white walls and sterile smells…sharp needles and beeps and cries and darkness…eternal darkness.

 Damn, Kyuhyun breathes. Sometimes life has this quirky way of laying out its cards…one minute it’s all fair, and then the next, the tables have been turned.

“Kyuhyun” Sungmin’s voice brings him back, and his fingers move against the alabaster skin, gliding down to his jaw and settling upon his neck and shoulders.

“You’re perfect…” he whispers lowly, “Just like what I had imagined”

Feeling something wet and warm glide down Sungmin’s cheeks, he moves to his side and takes the man to his arms, “You’re crying again…” he chuckles, hearing the downpour getting heavier and heavier. “It’s because you always make me cry” Sungmin slaps at his arm lightly, scooting a bit closer to feel the warmth emanating from Kyuhyun.

“Hmm” Kyuhyun hums, Sungmin’s hair lovingly. “Hey hyung…”

Sungmin looks up and laughs when he hits Kyuhyun’s chin, “Hmm?”

“Thank you…”

Sungmin looks up a bit more and stills a bit when he sees his reflection on those slate mirrors, convinced for just a fraction that Kyuhyun was looking at him, “For what, Kyu?”

“For everything…for being the sun to my night” Kyuhyun answers, pulling the man closer, “For putting me back together.”

“You know I haven’t really done anything…” Sungmin answers weakly, his stubborn tears soaking the thin material of Kyuhyun’s shirt. “Everything was my fault. I shouldn’t have-”

“Shh. We’ve talked about this, remember? It was no one’s fault…” Kyuhyun silenced him quickly, his firm yet comforting hold tightening around Sungmin’s shoulders. “I’m serious, Min. You gave me one hell of a push. So, thank you”

Feeling a bit lightheaded, Sungmin presses a kiss to Kyuhyun’s lips and buries his head onto his neck, “If there’s anyone that I should thank, it should be you Kyuhyun. I was messed up back then…and if it weren’t for you…I wouldn’t be lying here today”

“You taught me how to love…and how to accept who I am as a person. And that I shouldn’t be insecure about my flaws and imperfections as long as there is a person who loves me…and accepts me” Sungmin whispers, “Come to think of it…I was the one who was blind. I was blinded by my insecurities”

Kyuhyun laughs merrily, breathes in his scent and kisses his hair, “Then I guess in the end…we did fix each other,” he says, taking Sungmin’s right hand to intertwine with his left, admiring how the spaces accommodate their fingers perfectly.“We've come to pick up these fragments we have been patching up for so long…and then glued it back. Together.”

“I’m glad we’ve met” Sungmin smiles brightly, swinging to his right so that he is lying atop the taller man, his hands on either side of his head as he whispers “I love you”, before kissing Kyuhyun’s parted lips. He groans when a hand creeps up his back to settle on his hair, forcing him to press his entire weight unto Kyuhyun, who takes the advantage by moving rather quickly, succeeding in flipping their positions.

“I love you more” Kyuhyun answers, nipping at the soft flesh of Sungmin’s neck, “Promise me one thing?” he adds later, pulling back with a smile on his face.

“Anything”

“Promise me…you’ll never leave me alone in this darkness”

Sungmin finds his chest rumble from the ache again, but his lips curve up into a beautiful smile, “You should know me by now, Kyu. I’m an idiot if I were to leave you”

Kyuhyun plasters the smile that takes Sungmin’s breath away; and with another lingering kiss and a few touches to here and there, he takes Sungmin’s hands and locks their fingers together, “’til the end, we’ll be holding each other’s hands”